Oh happy day! The Knitters are releasing their ļ¬rst new album in 20 years. That's even longer than we've been waiting for Guns N' Roses to wrap Chinese Democracy.
For readers raised by wolves, the Knitters are ground zero for alt-country. In the mid-'80s, members of two of L.A.'s biggest bands-John Doe, Exene Cervenka, and DJ Bonebrake of X, and Dave Alvin from the Blasters-teamed up to play roots music faves and countriļ¬ed interpretations of originals. This union yielded 1985's Poor Little Critter in the Road, which introduced a generation of punks to classics by Merle Haggard, Leadbelly, and the Carter Family.
Now comes news that, on July 12, the Knitters will issue The Modern Sound of the Knitters. "Since our last record's been out for a while and it did pretty good, we ļ¬gured it was just about time to put out another," quips Doe. Like its predecessor, the new disc includes overhauls of X ditties, some covers (including a shockingly palatable "Born to Be Wild"), and even a sequel song, "The New Call of the Wrecking Ball."
You don't have to be Encyclopedia Brown to deduce that Border Radio has been harsh about Exene's musical output of late. But after getting our mitts on advance music, we must give props to her contributions to The Modern Sounds.... The mellower arrangements provide a kinder setting for her well-worn pipes, and her trademark dissonant harmonies with Doe remain solid. Last time the Knitters passed through Seattle, in 2002, they blew the roof off the Crocodile, so we're hoping for a repeat when they hit the Showbox on July 22.
While you're planning summer activities, save August 12th and 13th for a road trip to Portland for the 7th Annual Pickathon Roots Festival, a weekend of music and camping held on the scenic, 68-acre Horning's Hideout in North Plains, Oregon. This year's program boasts a stellar lineup: Freakwater, Jolie Holland, the Be Good Tanyas, rising stars the Foghorn String Band and Crooked Jades, and Seattle's own bluegrass maniac Danny Barnes. For tickets and more info, visit www.pickathon.com.
On a related note, one of the highlights on Memory Against Forgetting, by upstart folkie Casey Neill, is a live version of the traditional "Paddy's Lament," taped at the Pickathon a couple years back. It's just one of 13 previously unreleased gems featured on this new collection from the politically charged, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter, who sounds a bit like David Gray... if the latter had bigger cojones. But don't just take our word for it; Neill plays the Conor Byrne on Friday, May 27.
Lastly, some sadness: Border Radio bids fond adieu to "The King of Bluegrass," Jimmy Martin, who passed away on Saturday, May 14, at the age of 77. Immortalized in the 2003 documentary King of Bluegrass: The Life and Times of Jimmy Martin (and the companion CD, Don't Cry to Me), the Nashville resident practically invented the "high lonesome" country sound over the course of his 50-plus year career. RIP. ā
